Building Momentum: Reflections on Housing 2025
SBS recently attended Housing 2025 , with over 9,000 attendees and 350 exhibitors, one thing is clear: the mood across the sector as a whole is more positive and energised than it has been in decades. For those working at the sharp end of retrofit and sustainable building delivery, the event re-affirmed what we have long championed – the sector is not only committed to tackling challenges, but it is ready to act and make a difference to real people’s lives.
From the moment the doors opened at Housing 2025, the tone was one of determined optimism. For retrofit, the conversation is no longer just about the “why” – we’re now deeply into the “how” and striving for best practice. Things have moved from aspiration to action, helped along by a combination of strategic policies, increasing collaboration and a big funding injection in the past month.
From Aspiration to Action: A Sector Ready to Deliver
Our chairman Derek Horrocks who attended this year’s event said: “It’s great to see momentum continuing across the sector – but most importantly it’s not just talk anymore, now all eyes are turning to gearing up delivery at an even bigger scale. The recommitment to significant retrofit investment in the government’s Spending Review last month is a real turning point.
“For the first time in a long time, through the Warm Homes Plan, we’re seeing long-term funding aligned with long-term ambition. That kind of certainty is essential – not just in the decarbonisation space but the sector as a whole – and the atmosphere at Housing 2025 reflected that.
Long-Term Funding Brings Long-Term Confidence
That recommitment of funding has given housing associations, local authorities and delivery partners the confidence and surety to plan for the long-term. Retrofit ambitions have in the past been held back by more fragmented approaches to funding and short-term thinking. Thankfully, this attitude has changed over recent years, but £13.2 billion outlined within the Warm Homes Plan will go a long way to providing a more stable financial outlook and government support for a national retrofit mission.
Scaling Retrofit with Purpose
Throughout the week, positive conversations we had with delegates at our exhibition stand and panels on the various stages zoned in on the delivery aspect – and most importantly designing retrofit programmes that serve both sustainability goals and resident needs. The consensus? We don’t need more pilot projects – we need to deliver at scale. And delivering high-quality, people-focused housing decarbonisation work at scale is something we’ve been leading the way on.
Managing director Gary Lawson said: “The sector is primed and ready to go. We’ve got the strategies and technical know-how – and now the sector has the all-important confidence element too.
“The work is there – millions of homes are in need of decarbonisation work, many of them critically. The understanding of the transformational difference housing retrofit works can make for residents is also growing rapidly – making sure that people are kept firmly at the heart of everything the sector does. Now, it’s just a case of getting on with it – and we are.”
At Sustainable Building Services, we came away from Housing 2025 feeling both inspired and validated. We’re more committed than ever to supporting our partners in turning strategy into action, and delivering retrofit that works – for the environment, for the future of social housing, and most importantly for the residents.
Housing 2025 wasn’t just a conference. It was a signal. The retrofit opportunity is here, and it’s time to build on the momentum.
